


In the strange case of Kuroo's secondary gender

by rie_rotisse



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Bokuto Koutarou, Alpha Kozume Kenma, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bokuto is a ray of sunshine, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Kozume Kenma is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Not Beta Read, Omega Kuroo Tetsurou, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rutting, kuroo needs love, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:08:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28242906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rie_rotisse/pseuds/rie_rotisse
Summary: Apparently, because he was an Omega, Kuroo did not deserve his mother’s love.Kuroo presented as an omega at the age of 6. After his mother tried to sell him off, which eventually led to the divorce of his parents, Kuroo learned how cruel the world was with him and decided to hide his second gender away at all cost.It did not go well for him, for that his new best friend presented as an alpha.And his new new best friend was also and alpha.Kuroo thought he hid his secret well, and all would go well. But playing with fire, in this case, alphas, came with a great cost.-- Or --How Kuroo ended up with a pair of twins in his stomach and two alphas chasing after his hand in marriage.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 13
Kudos: 89





	1. How it all started.

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read this, please note that English is not my first language.  
> The story followed Kuroo as he grew up, so we are set on a long ride, buckle up my friends.

Kuroo grew up being haunted by his past and self-hatred. He learned to hide his nature and lived as a beta.

Kenme was more attached to Kuroo than he thought he was. He also learned that he was way more cruel than he thought he could be.

Bokuto did not care whether Kuroo was an omega or not. However, he then learned that the new found truth was incredibly advantagous for him.

\----------------------

Humanity’s anatomy is strange, despite being the most complicated beings to walk on our planet, they are surprisingly a being of instinct. Kuroo learned this when he turned 6, when a strange man got the slightest whiff of the sweet scent coming from his nape. The following events were not pleasant, he was lucky some passing by beta was brave enough to yank that alpha from his body and call the cops, the woman was kind and warm enough to lend him her jacket and bought him food to calm him down. His mother, on the other hand, was not as kind to him as that stranger was.

When she found out Kuroo was an Omega, he could feel darkness loomed over her eyes. Not long after that discoveries, Kuroo’s father found out she was planning to sell him to some rich Alpha when he turned 13 and move on with her life. A fight broke out, he was right outside the room when it happened and a year later, Kuroo found himself in a new city, new life, without his mother.

Apparently, because he was an Omega, Kuroo did not deserve his mother’s love.

“Hey! Do you have some games you want to play?” The boy named asked, and Kuroo quickly went back home to fetch his volleyball. Kuroo did not have many video games like the boy, his dad could not really afford them so he learned not to desire something so expensive. Volleyball on the hand, his dad loved them and a ball was much cheaper too, Kuroo liked soccer and other stuff too, but he liked volleyball a little more than the rest. He was happy Kenma was willing to play with him too. 

Kenma was very smart, and Kuroo knew the boy was very kind as well. His mother was smart, but she was not very kind was she. He knew sometimes, people could be too smart to care for other, but Kenma was different.

Kenma had not present yet, normal people did not present until they reach 11 or 12, but Kuroo hope Kenma could be an alpha. Maybe they could be mates.

But that was just a swift thought in the little boy’s mind, he was too scared to think about the future and too focused on volleyball to think about such big things.

“What did you present as, Kuroo?” Out of a blue, Kenma asked him when they were playing volleyball. Kuroo did not answer right away, suddenly he was hit with the realization when he first came to Tokyo.

He was an omega, so he did not deserve love.

“If you don’t want to say, it’s fine.” Kenma was quick to notice something in his friend’s eyes, something timid and dark, just like when they first met.

“No, I am a beta. It’s just…” Kuroo looked at the boy straight in the eyes. “I really hoped I could be an alpha though, then I would grow up to be very string wouldn’t I? I can protect you if you end up being an Omega, Kenma.” The boy chuckled at the thought.

Kenma was a little startled, some thoughts streamed through his little mind. Kenma felt like Kuroo was lying, but why would the older boy lie? He did not pursue the matter further but something about the word omega really stuck with him.

“I don’t want to be an omega at all, it would be tiresome.” Kenma sighed. “You know, heats, and, they have to be protected all the time, and give births. I can’t be an omega.” The small boy shook his head, completely dissatisfied with the idea.

Kuroo did not disagree. He crouched down next to the boy, about time they took a nap.

“I don’t want to be an omega either.” Kuroo whispered. “What would you do, you know, if I were an omega?”

“What?”

“Haha, nothing, I said if you were an omega, you would be one hell of a bothersome one you know. You don’t even listen to your parents, you would end up dumping your alpha the moment he told you to stop gaming and have kids, I am sure!” Kuroo laughed it off with a little teasing.

Kenma frown, but he did not disagree with the vision. It Kenma had been an omega, he would hide away in his house for days and would not have a mate at all, too much work for him.

The bothersome vision did not become reality to him.

To everyone’s surprise, Kenma was an alpha. The first rut was hell for him, a hot summer day, in the first week of his long desired vacation. Kuroo was sure he heard Kenma swore off the rut from his own room. Normally Kenma’s parents would not tolerate such foul language, but they were too busy being glad Kenma was not an omega.

When Kuroo heard their words, it cut him a little inside.

But when they said, “But if he were, I would still love him with all my heart”, it was what broke his heart. He could not comprehend, if Kenma’s parents could tolerate the smaller boy being an omega, why couldn’t his mother? The question stuck with him.

“Do you know how lucky you are, being a beta?” Kenma was still grumpy after his first rut, which took up most of his gaming time he was so excited for. Kuroo knew he would not hear the end of the complaints.

“Well at least you aren’t an omega? Do you know how many people want to be an alpha? You will probably grow up to be 180cm or at least super smart and get rich.” Kuroo was envious, he was, the sour was visible, he even pouted a little. “Everyone loves alphas right, especially little omegas.”

“I don’t like omegas.” He blurted out, straight and dry, even with voice as soft as clouds. “They are too much work, burdens.”

Kuroo froze in his spot. He felt his nape throbbed. Had Kuroo not worn his scent block patch then, Kenma would be drown with sorrow the moment he said those words. But luckily, Kuroo was talented at keeping a straight face, as tears was dwelling at the end of his eyes, he quickly excused himself to go home.

That night Kuroo quietly cried in to his pillows, like he always did.

But for the first time ever, that day, he cried because of his sweet childhood friend.


	2. Bokuroo doesn't mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto is a little clueless, Kuroo doesn't mind.

Bokuto was what they would call a prime alpha, he practically glowed: every he went, he was in the dead center of attention, and every time he talks, people would be drawn in no matter what nonsense he was blabbering about. It was his energy. Bright like the burning sun, and eyes as fierce as if he was going to devour you in one piece.

The first time Kuroo and Bokuto met, the black hair boy felt like he would not mind giving birth to his children. The thought was strange and shameful, it rendered Kuroo embarrassed for the rest of the sparring match, resulting a shameful performance.

“Hey hey hey! Are you scared? Come on! Give me a little more strength!” The alpha was jumping everywhere, high in spirit and bright like a ball of sunshine.

Meanwhile, Kuroo was drenched in sweats, basically puking his lungs out.

“It’s easy for an alpha like you to say that, you monster…” He wanted to lie down, crawled home, even, but his pride denied Kuroo of such action. Curse my pride, Kuroo said under his breath and stood up again. The alpha was incredibly happy, he started jumping higher and screamed at Kuroo from the other side of the net.

“HEY HEY!!! YOU BLACK HAIR MIDDLE BLOCKER, BLOCK FOR ME, BLOCK FOR ME!!!” Ugh, Kuroo cursed, I heard you, lousy alpha. He wondered why Bokuto and Kenma was so different, Bokuto was so bright, it almost hurt his eyes while Kenma was quiet and timid, like the moon. To be honest, most people did not even believe Kenma was an alpha, and most just assumed his scent was Kuroo’s all along.

Kuroo, fortunately, grew up to be tall and broad, he hit 180cm the first year of highschool and most people thought he was an alpha, it did not help when Kenma’s own scent lingered on him almost every moment of the day. He stopped bothering to correct them after a while, since to say he was a beta was also a lie, and being mistaken as an alpha helped him a lot in some cases.

Noone had ever dared to attack him, and that was just the start.

“UGhH!” The ball pounced right of his fingers and flew out of the court, one point for Fukurodani. It was painful. Bokuro quickly noticed the frown on his face and asked him, from the other side of the net.

“Hey are you okay? Did I go overboard? Sorry dude…” As someone who could probably snap your neck in seconds with such strength, Bokuto was honestly a very gentle soul. Kuroo noticed this in the third match they played against each other. The boy was so concerned over a Nekoma’s player’s injuries caused by him that Bokuto was depressed for the rest of the match and got really laggy with his spikes, resulting in a nice win for Kuroo.

This alpha was good. The omega part of Kuroo told him that.

“It’s okay, shit like this happens all the time in sports.” Kuroo waved of the concerning eyes, but Bokuto got through the net and caught his arm. 

“No no, let me buy some juice after this, you know, like an apology.”

“What…” Kuroo was caught by surprise, he was forced to look straight at the other boy’s eyes. Those eyes were golden, like the color of the sun, burning and filled with passion. Kuroo wondered what his raw scent was like without that scent pack in the way, would it be intense and filled with so much passion like him? Kuroo’s nape throbbed, and something down in his tummy screamed at him to not say no. “Oka…y, but genius, if you want to buy me some juice, you should buy some for the rest of our team too. We suffered quite a lot because of you, you know?”

They laughed it off, and they hit it off very well. Bokuto was stupid and cute, he can probably kill Kuroo with bare hands if he wanted, but his heart was so soft Kuroo wanted to protect him at all cost. The feelings he felt with Bokuto was something Kuroo had never felt before, not even with Kenma, something mixed with stupid and pure joy. That something made him feel like tomorrow could be something to look forward to, after all.

With that boy’s laughter alone, Kuroo felt like he could fly.

Maybe, maybe he was the one…

“Hey.” Kuroo lied on his back, sweats run down all over his face. Tokyo’s summer was cruel, even at the end of August, it did not help that his friend was a sport freak. “You have a girlfriend?”

“What?” Bokuto answered with laziness in his breath, his mind too blown out by the heat to comprehend shit.

“I said, do you have someone?” Kuroo repeated.

“Someone? Like for practice?”

“No, stupid! For dating.” Kuroo had to stood up just from the sheer stupidity of that white hair boy.

“Oh!” Bokuto answered with an “oh”, and then silence. He thought hard, for a bird’s brain, Kuroo thought to himself. “I used to.”

“Used to?” Kuroo was a little surprised at the idea, Bokuto actually having someone. To be fair, Bokuto was hot, like a mini sun he was: thick thighs, big guns, the boy was built like a truck, and his golden eyes were just the icing on the cake. But his personality, Kuroo adored it deeply, but he also knew few could put up with it. His personality was a pain in the ass, but his stamina was endless, even other alphas faced hard times keeping with him in volleyball, let alone betas or omegas, and God blessed the boy, volleyball was all he ever cared for. Kuroo could not even imagine how Bokuto involved himself in matters outside of volleyball, especially courting.

“Yea! Back in middle school, she was very pretty, and she was an omega too!” The alpha did not hesitate to share, he never had anything to hide anyway.

The sounds of the word “omega” turned Kuroo’s stomach upside down, more than the running already did, the thought that Bokuto had had some omega girl all over him made Kuroo’s skin crawled with unknown emotions. But he held them in.

“Omega? Aren’t you a lucky one? Why did you even break up with her?” Breaking up with an omega was often deemed as cruel and frown upon by society, even if they were not mated to each other yet. Kuroo thought it was an overreaction, no one would die from being dumped that easily, or at least he would not die that easily.

Bokuto seemed glad Kuroo did not drag him for it.

“I don’t know, she started talking about mating and marriage after school and I was just, not…ready you know. But she started crying and asking me stuff… so I broke up with her before graduation.”

“Was that…omega bothersome to you?”

There was one thing Kuroo liked about Bokuto more than anything, that was his honesty, and truth to be told, that honesty could sometimes mean cruelty.

“Yea, like a burden, or some sort. I want to play volleyball forever!” The thought of volleyball excited the white hair boy and it instantly boosted his energy, in no time he was jumping all over the place.

Kuroo’s throat ran dry.

Of course, everyone would think of omegas like burdens, weak links of our society, good-for-nothing breeders.

If Kuroo had been an alpha instead, he would think like that too.

He knew he would.

“Kuroo?” Bokuto noticed the silence, he turned around and caress the front of his friend’s arm. “Are you tired? Do you want to walk home?”

Kenma was kind and warm, and Bokuto had such a pure soul, how could Kuroo see their true thoughts as something wrong and cruel?

The wrong one was him.

“Kuroo?”

“Yea? Oh? Nothing, I am just really, really jealous you got yourself an omega, you lucky himbo!” Kuroo brushed off the negative thoughts. The other boy was happiness and sunshine personified, Kuroo boy would not dream of ruining his mood in any way.

“Aren’t you an alpha too? You’ll get one eventually! Even if you don’t, just get rich and have lots of them!” Bokuto was a simpleton, talking about omega about like they were some juice or candies. Kuroo knew Bokuto did not mean harm, just poor choice of words, the boy probably meant he would be a ladykiller in the future, but sometimes, Kuroo really, really want to punch Bokuto in the face.

“I am not an alpha.” Kuroo confessed. 

“What?” Bokuto was shook, he tilted his head like a child, wide eyes, wide mouth, even his hair got all shaken up.

The himbo was so lucky he was cute.

“I am a beta.”

“But your scent.”

“That was my… childhood’s friend. We are close so…”

Bokuto stepped closer to Kuroo, their chest almost touched, the alpha took a whiff at Kuroo’s nape and all suddenly, “knowledge” came to him like the voice of God to Moses. “That explains EVERYTHING!”

Kuroo folded his arms, headache lurking in the back of his head.

“Ye, no shit Sherlock! How can you be so slow on the matter? We basically see each other every weekend in the last 3 months.”

“I mean, I just assumed…” Bokuto’s eyebrows knitted together in an attempt to get his brain to function, it was cute. Kuroo thought to himself, he would really want to kiss that. “But it all makes sense now! Why your scent sometimes seemed weaker, and the no scent clothes, and how the scent just isn’t like you at all!”

“Isn’t like me?” Kuroo raised one of his eyebrows. “How do you think I would smell like, if I were not a beta?”

Bokuto thought hard and wise. His bothered face just seemed adorable not to smooch sometimes, but Kuroo never paid attention to the want to kiss his friend, he assumed it was just his omega reacting to a very cute alpha nearby.

“Something sweet.”

“What?” Kuroo was caught by surprise.

“Like iced tea, you know.” Bokuto seemed very proud of himself to think of such thing. “Sweet, and cold, but like, the cold in the summer cold, not the negative cold! Does that make sense? Nevermind, you would smell like iced tea at the end of summer dude!”

Sweet? That’s odd. Normally, an alpha’s scent is rough and domineering. Bokuto’s scent smelt like winter, weird for his personality, but he smelt like burning charcoal, with a mix of snow in the highlands, oddly calm and gentle. On the other hand, Kenma smelt like the sea in the autumn, salty and cold, with just enough woodiness and cinnamon. An omega’s scent? And omega’s scent is sweet and inviting, many describe them as cotton candy, flower or dairy, they were born to please and take care of children after all. Kuroo got a little nervous that the thought his scent.

“Hey aren’t I supposed to be and alpha? How can I smell sweet, you burnt marshmallow idiot?” Kuroo asked, with just enough teasing so Bokuto could not sense the nervousness in his voice.

“Hey, how can I know! On the second thought, wanna get some iced tea before going home?”

They evening ended with a match racing back to Bokuto’s house, they had some iced tea and watched volleyball videos together. The weekend was long and fun, the heat started to calm down after the sun had set and while Kuroo rode a train home, a question sparked in his mind.

“Would I want a mate?” 

A chain of thoughts flooded his mind, pandering into the worn-out mentality at the end of the day.

Who would want to be his mate? Isn’t he too rough and tall for an omega? How would his mate be? Would that person be kind? Be pure? Or will that person be like his mother, disgruntled and indifferent and ashamed of her own child? Does he want to have children in the future? How many and how would he raise them?

Would they ever feel like he love them enough?

Those thoughts did not calm down, and soon Kuroo had to take a week off due to “health issues” as told by his dad to the school.

That raised another problem.

Suppressants are not widely used in this world as they are harmful to both the omega and the alpha in many ways. Kuroo’s household spent a large sum of their income on expensive and harmful drugs that they knew would be rendered useless by nature at some point in the future. The point was creeping close, Kuroo could feel it, but he could not determine exactly when that disaster would come.

He could only hope for the best that fate, destiny, God or other things, would be kind to him.

He had never been the lucky one, though.


	3. The doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo thought he was good at hiding secrets, but unlucky for him, some people in his life were very observant.

Kenma got into Nekoma, and soon after that, he joined the volleyball club, despite the frequent whining. People slowly came into realization about the strange case of Kuroo’s secondary gender, and moved on to the strange case of Kenma Kozume.

To leave one’s scent around was an act of possessiveness and courting, all alphas were guilty as charged, especially to their own omegas and children. However, to leave their scent so heavily on their friend was uncommon. Kenma’s action can be justified as that, he just simply did not care that much, or that he and Kuroo were too close so the behavior became the norm for them. But all alphas on the team knew, there was a heavy underlying possessiveness in the first year boy’s scent, either intentional or not.

The boy did not have to join their club, or even play volleyball at all, but he still did for Kuroo and none of other things. Kenma held onto Kuroo like one of his own little toys, he kept Kuroo close and let the tall boy run around in the invisible cage Kenma built specially just for him. Kuroo was usually the wiser, everyone on the team thought to themselves, but that was not their problem anyway. Since omegas were so rare, alphas often took betas as their mates as well, did they not?

Thus, the meeting between Kenma and Bokuto was awful.

Their personalities were not compatible in any ways from the start, Kuroo expected that, but he could never had predicted how those two looked like they wanted to rip the other’s innards out the moment they met. The hostility was too thick in the air to ignore. Bokuto’s hits were like missles, all aiming at the smaller alpha and Kenma suddenly decided he would rather die than to give in, continuously trying to one up the other team’s ace with his wits. 

Kuroo was buried deep in confusion and frustration. He ran back and forth trying to play volleyball while keeping both the alphas from splitting each other’s throats like animals. The day has been long. The painkiller’s smell, the hostile scent, the sweats and tears, all mixed together inside their small gym, full of people and people. The small, whining voice of his inside omega crying, asking him why his two dearest alphas wanted to kill each other. The omega wanted to cry, it wanted to be in its knees, showing off its neck and whine and beg, it made Kuroo so disgusted he almost vomited. Eventually, all those things got the better of Kuroo.

“Please… stop!” Kuroo’s voice was soft, and hurt, too close to not be a cry.

Bokuto stopped hitting a spike mid-air and Kenma froze where he stood.

The second after that, Kuroo collapsed on the floor. The scene was chaos, Kenma rushed in to catch him, but Kuroo’s face still hit the floor, his nose was bleeding and the scent of blood drown out other scent. Bokuto jumped to him second, the bigger alpha managed to carry him to the Nurse’s office as he brushed off the smaller alpha’s disgruntled voice.

It turned out he caught a small cold from the dropping temperature in Tokyo but he still decided to join the practice match anyway. His dad was worried sick, the man called Kenma and asked all the things in the world that it got tiring after a while.

“That stupid child, he overworked himself again, didn’t he?”

“Yes, Mr.Kuroo, he did.”

“After all these years he still can’t take care of himself! That stupid boy!”

“Very stupid.”

But as the man was talking to Kenma through the phone, he suddenly asked.

“Kenma, can you… promised to take care of him for me?” The man’s voice was hoarse and exhausted. Kenma was not really close to him, but he knew the man loved his son as if Kuroo was the sun and moon to his Earth. It was hard not to, from what Kenma knew, the man was an omega, and omegas were incredibly attached to their children after all.

“What do you mean Mr.Kuroo?” 

“…Tetsurou is… I know he looks very tall and strong but Tetsurou, he gets hurt easily, he doesn’t show it much but I know he feels lonely all the time. He can’t handle abandonment well, Kenma…”

“Of course, I won’t leave him. He is my friend, Mr.Kuroo.”

The other end of the phone call got silent for a few second before Mr.Kuroo decided to speak again.

“I know you are a good friend, Kenma, but… I know I ask too much from you sometimes but… Kenma, what do you think of Kuroo as a mate?”

Kenma got caught by surprise, he really did. A mate, huh? Kenma had been keeping those exhausting things at the back of his mind for as long as he had studied about the ABO dynamics. Just the thought of spending all of his life with someone new, an omega even, leave him troubled. But Kuroo?

“I…I have never thought of that before.”

Kuroo’s dad sighed deeply through the phone, conflicted and guilty.

“Kuroo is all I have right now. After what happened with his mother, I just, I can’t just give him to anyone, you see. You are a good kid, Kenma, and you have been with him ever since you guys were little and I know you care for him just as deeply as I am. If his mate isn’t you, I don’t really know if I can make peace with it.”

The story of Kuroo’s mother was one of the things Kuroo refused to tell anyone, even Kenma. Kenma did not have interest in other people’s secret, but hearing that from Mr.Kuroo ticked something in Kenma’s mind. A mated omega, with children, leaving their alpha was so unheard of it was almost taboo. What mistake could an alpha make that was so grave, their mate would willingly leave them, along with their feeble pup?

The alpha was sometimes, too smart for his own good. He never eavesdropped, never meant to pry into anyone’s lives, but the clues just came to him easier than most, and later, the story. He was not grateful, even one bit. But the hidden part of Kuroo’s past, his mother and what made him such a quiet and scared kid when they first meet had always stuck at the back of his mind after all those years.

Sometimes he felt like he was one step away from unveiling the whole story, but he was missing just that one little piece.

The little piece in the middle of the puzzle.

If it was a video game, then it would be the legendary jewel on the main character’s sword or something like that. If he could somehow get his hands on that jewel... then everything would fall into its place.

“I will try my best, for now.” 

He asked himself.

Was Kuroo an omega?

\------

Kuroo got sick and Bokuto was too absorbed in his own petty thoughts that he did not realize it until Kuroo collapsed in front of everyone. The scene kept repeating in the alpha’s mind and it made Bokuto wanted to punch himself in the face. How could he not realize it sooner? You dumb alpha, you bad alpha.

“Bokuto-san!” The voice calling out to him was calm and collected, everything he was not right then. It was Akaashi, the new first year setter in the team. The boy was an alpha, a calm one, but he also possessed that caring trait to him, which allowed him to take care of others with no troubles. That made Bokuto so jealous. “Please quit dwelling on the other team’s beta, it was not your fault. He tried to hid his cold anyway, and you were too caught up in your fight with the setter to notice.”

Arghhh, he was right! So straight forward! Bokuto got into dejected mode again and hid his face between his knees, hair plopping straight down.

“I still feel so baddd Akaashiii! That wasn’t me at all ya know, I just suddenly got really angry at the other team’s setter, his scent was so awful! I just wanted him to leave!” Bokuto confessed. Akaashi knew Bokuto was not a hostile alpha, he was an alpha himself and they got along amazingly well, on and off court, despite the white hair alpha’s childish behavior, sometimes. What had happened was, as Bokuto phrased it himself, not him at all. “Should I buy some flowers to apologize? I feel so sorry!!”

“Flowers are weird, Bokuto-san!”

“Ah you’re right!! You are so smart, Akaashi!”

Was it cruel to tell Bokuto he was stupid? Akaashi knew Bokuto was all brawl and strength, but to see him that slow with feelings too was a new.

Bokuto’s crush on the other team’s… “beta” was not news, at least, not just news among the Fukurodani’s team. Bokuto was like an opened book after all. The constant excitement with every texts? The never ending blabbering about the other team’s black hair middle blocker? Or, the shameless “brotherhood” gifts he kept buying for the beta, bracelets and scarfs? It was too close to not frankly call it “courting”.

It was a surprise to Akaashi when he met that “Kuroo”.

The boy was covered from head to toe with another alpha’s scent, and Akaashi thought Bokuto’s act of courting was shameless beforehand. Courting a beta, in anyway was not an uncommon thing. In this world where omegas were so few and far between, some alphas decide to share one omega, while others loathed the idea and chose to settle down with betas or even alphas instead. While female betas were perfectly fertile to give birth to children, male betas fertility rate was close to zero in most case, thus alphas were less likely to mate with one.

Akaashi patted Bokuto’s head to stop him from whining louder. He sighed.

“But if you want to court Kuroo, then flowers would be great.” Bokuto jerked up in surprise at the word “courting”, hair all perked up like a true owl. His golden eyes were blinking like crazy and the boy got restless, fidgeting around like a 5 years old kid that got his secrets exposed.

“What…what! No, that, that would be weird, right? I mean Kuroo is very pretty, like, very very pretty, Akaashi, but he is my bro, and bros aren’t supposed to court one another!” Ahh, Bokuto’s weakness number 13, his speaking skills dropped to grade 3 level when he was embarrassed, not like the skill was very high to begin with, still. Once again, Akaashi sighed and held up his hands to point towards, Bokuto.

“You buy him food and gifts almost everytime you guys are out together.” Typical courting move, to shower the other one with gifts to prove your financial capability.

“That’s what bros normally do for each other, his family is not well off so it’s just natural for me to help him out, right?” Good point, Bokuto, he was probably complimented himself in his mind.

“It’s not that normal, you scent him every time you have the chance. You also scented the scarf you bought him before you gave it to him last month, and the shoes, and the socks, or all the thing you gave him to wear.”

“It was normal for close friends! Kuroo smells like that Kenma boy all the time too! So I just…”

“Bokuto-san, is Konoha-san also a close friend of yours?”

Bokuto was surprised by the question, seemingly unrelated to the topic they were currently discussing.

“Yes? Of course he is my close friend, we play volleyball together for like, 2 years.”

“Do you want to gift him food, and scent his clothes as well?” The question took Bokuto several seconds to take in. It was, critical. Konoha was an omega, an unmated one, but despite being an alpha himself, Bokuto never really thought about Konoha in that way. That blond was, pretty, Bokuto could not deny that, but he’d never wanted to court that boy, or got aggressive at any alphas leaving their scent on Konoha, he only simply thought of Konoha as a…friend.

“Bokuto-san, normal friends don’t scent their friend, nor get jealous over other alphas over their friends. You want to court Kuroo-san, and the alpha’s scent made you want to protect your territory, that was why you were so aggressive towards Kenma-san.”

Akaashi casually stated. On the court earlier that day, Bokuto’s scent had been so awful it had leaked through his scent patch and pandered quietly into the air on their side of the net, sour and bitter, almost like blood. Poor Konoha-san, Akaashi thought to himself, the omega face had looked like he got blood drawn straight from his face. If Bokuto’s scent patch had not been on, Akaashi was sure Konoha would break down and cry out of fear.

“Oh… That makes sense. I like Kuroo.” Bokuto’s reaction was rather, calm. Akaashi did not expect that. But his next words startled him. “If Kuroo were an omega, I would’ve bitten him the night we met.”

Bokuto did not realize how alarming his words were, he continued.

“I wonder if Kuroo are truly a beta.”

After a short while, Akaashi carefully questioned the other alpha.

“What do you mean, Bokuto-san?”

Bokuto, still as calming as ever, said some words that raised a flag in Akaashi’s mind.

“Akaashi, if you were an omega, you would not want anyone to know, right?”

The chilling winds, still reluctantly holding onto the cool spring, blew through them. Some wheels started to turn in Akaashi’s head, and for some reasons, he was rather terrified of the idea of Kuroo being an omega. Bokuto was pure, and good-hearted, but something about the calming way Bokuto was making his instinct feel endangered.

Kuroo, I really do hope you are not an omega. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you see that masturbation tag :^) Yea boyyyyyy we gonna have some MEAT


	4. Yaku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaku's role in this story maybe small, but he was the perfect grain of sand to tip the scale.

Yaku was a beta, in every way except in volleyball. He was the backbone of the team’s defense, his prediction ability was not to ignore, his reflex and game sense was also marvelous, as Nekomata sensei once complimented, it was such natural talent that even alphas could not wish to match his. The same thing could not be said to Kuroo, though.   
When Yaku first met Kuroo, he was tall, and unlikable, a beta covered in an alpha’s smell was just absurd, Yaku thought he was trying to get by by faking being an alpha. When he knew they both joined the volleyball club, he almost kicked that fake dickhead in the face. But the determination that dickhead had actually astounded him. Yaku had natural talents, Kuroo did not. He was average in almost everything, except height, but he made up for it with practice, and a calm demeanor on court. He was not a particular star, but he filled in every role he was assigned with no mistakes, he made sure the ball got connected, the players in sync, and he looked out for each and every one on the team with utmost care.   
Yaku maybe the backbone of their defense, but Kuroo was the string that connected everyone on the court. That stirred up something in Yaku’s stomach that could not be named, his sharp instinct was telling him that Kuroo was different from him. Not an alpha, but not like a beta as well, not something in between, but something entirely different.  
When Kenma joined their team, Yaku finally knew where the heck that scent was coming from. The boy was rather fragile and submissive, compared to how an alpha should be, or at least, was expected to be. But he was smart beyond words. Sometimes Yaku felt shivers running down his spine, seeing how Kenma perceived things around him like a player analyzing his choice of weapons and armors, which to use and which to sacrifice. Yaku felt like he was an asset on display. That trait was an alpha’s, alright?   
So, heavy scent on Kuroo must not be unintentional, either.  
Thus, it was no surprise to him, when fight almost broke out between Fukurodani’s second year wing spiker and Kenma, shortly after the training camp started. Kuroo was carrying two alphas’s scent on him, and those two were not happy about it.   
“Is Kuroo awake?”   
“The nurse gave him medicines earlier, he should be.” The alpha was playing on his PSP, as per usual. Too cold compared to how he reacted when Kuroo dropped to the floor, Yaku thought to himself. He recalled Kenma’s devastating call to Kuroo and he could only describe Kenma’s eyes as murderous. Yaku was not exaggerating. Yaku was right behind Kuroo when he felt, but the beta could not move an inch, both the alphas’s eyes were on him as if if he had touched Kuroo, they would chop his arms off. Sorry, Kuroo, I let your face hit the ground, but I was more scared for my life than your stupid face.   
“Hey, about Bokuto…”   
“Are you gonna scold me like coach Nekomata too?” So Nekomata-sensei was here before him, huh? Yaku scratched the back of his head and pulled some chair out for himself to sit on, it was not going to be a short conversation.   
“I know what was happening, so I won’t scold you.” Technically speaking, Yaku planned to give Kenma some advice. “But you have to save some face for Kuroo. Bokuto is a very close friend of his and…”   
“How can you say you know what was happening?” Kenma cut him off, unusual for his polite self. “You are an outsider, are you not?”   
Oh, this brat. Yaku was small, but hit guts was not.   
“Oh you want to play this game, brat? Then let me get this straight then, you and Bokuto both want to court this fishhead, that’s why you got angry at both Bokuto and Kuroo and caused a scene? Am I right? Yea I am damn sure I am right!” Yaku hissed. “Now let me tell you something, no one wants to get involved in that dipshit there with the three of you, so suck it up and behave yourself on the court or I will kick your ass out of the team!”   
Kenma got caught off guard and stared back at him in confusion. He then spoke.   
“You are not authorized to kick me out.”   
“Oh you little bitch!” Yaku kicked his legs and got Kenma jumping straight to Kuroo’s overheating body and hissing at him from the bed. Yaku would not risk waking Kuroo up, but he was prepared to punch Kenma, with words. “You acted like you own Kuroo, yet you have never told him you’re interested in him. Of course, someone else would swoop in and steal the opportunity, dimwit. You brought this upon yourself and you still dared to act like an ass! Are you stupid or what?”   
As Kenma was opening his mouth, Yaku quickly cut him off again.   
“Don’t you say Kuroo does not like you that way! He smells like you and his head is filled to the brim with you, I am surprised that fishhead hasn’t been pregnant with your pups by now.”   
Those words certainly got into Kenma’s head, thankfully. Kenma got really quiet, and slowly nodded his head, for an alpha, at least he was reasonable. But it was not reasons that got into Kenma, it was Yaku’s unpleasant choice of words.   
“What do you mean, pregnant with my pups?”   
“Hah?” Yaku looked riddled, he swiftly recalled his words and let out a loud, “Oh, that? A figure of speech, ever heard of that, genius?”   
Kenma then, out of the blue, asked him.   
“Do you think Kuroo is an omega?”  
Kuroo? Omega? That moment, Yaku swore he could see some lightbulbs flickering somewhere in his head. The faint sweetness in his voice, the soft touches he gave others and the ever-there will to serve and to care for others, all those traits that Kuroo had… Kuroo was not an alpha, and as a beta, Yaku knew Kuroo was different from him, had Kuroo always been an…  
“Omega?” But Yaku, as the quick witted beta he was, denied the claim immediately. “No, what are you even talking about? What I mentioned was just figure of speech.”   
Kenma looked at him, eyes cold and seemingly intimidating, but the shorter boy was not budging. Kenma was looking for something Yaku had, a clue, a confirmation, anything that connect “Kuroo” and “omega”. Did Kenma figure it out?   
“I see…” Kenma then sighed out.   
“What are you doing on the boy’s bed?” The nurse came back, his voice confused. Kenma quickly got kicked off the nurse’s office, despite the lazy whining he made, with oh so much, much energy. That only left Yaku back in the room, he knew he should leave, but he did not. He wanted to confirm for himself.   
“You woke up, didn’t you?” Yaku laid his head on his palm, leaning closely to the chair’s arm, legs bouncing slowly. His voice was low, and soft, almost like a lullaby, Yaku was trying to sooth the just then, omega. Even Yaku was surprised at his attitude, but one can hardly be mean when they find out their friend was an omega, could they.   
“You knew?” Kuroo was facing the wall. Yaku could imagine Kuroo was feeling ashamed and insecure about his second gender. He himself could not see himself being an omega. Many policies had been passed and society was much more opened than what it used to be, however, omegas were still widely deemed as a pretty “thing” to own, a glorified puppy machine. Heats were troublesome from what he’d learned and pregnancies were expected of them, not to mention the sole ideal of having an alpha to have you as his trophy. If Yaku were put into that “role”, he would rather cut down his scent gland himself.   
“Just now. I have always had a feeling, because I am smart, not like you, fishhead.”   
Kuroo chuckled quietly in low tones. He quickly replied.   
“Shut up beefhead, eating fish is scientifically better for your IQ, if you were smart, you would actually know this.”   
They laughed it off quietly and the air got a lot easier to breath in. Yaku was constantly bickering with Kuroo throughout their first year, but they never actually hated each other. Instead, Yaku was more of a frenemesis to Kuroo, one that respected him just as much as the other way around.   
“So, what do you think?”   
“Is there anything to think about?” Yaku said, with no ripple in his voice, or thought. Kuroo was Kuroo Tetsuro, first and foremost.  
IS there anything to think about?   
The words got Kuroo more emotional than he was willing to admit they did. Kuroo had been living so long under the never ending guilt and shame caused by his mother that he thought other people would be disgusted by him as well. The fear deeply rooted inside him, got plucked out by Yaku. The tree did not wither away entirely, but just one leaf off and Kuroo instantly felt like his heart was beating more easily.   
If only Kenma and Bokuto could help plucking those roots off of his heart like Yaku did. But Kuroo thought it was just wishful thinking, Yaku was a beta, of course he would feel more open towards omegas than alphas.   
Kuroo turned around and faced Yaku. His eyes were red and droopy, his nose was runny and lips dry as a desert. The face nearly drove Yaku to tears, from laughing so goddamn hard.   
“Shut the fuck up shorty!”   
“Hey! Who are you calling short, dickhead?”  
They almost got into a fight, but thankfully the nurse did not throw Yaku out as well. Just at the end of their silly argument no.999 about height and volleyball, Kuroo asked the beta.   
“So, are we still…the same?”   
Yaku huffed loudly.   
“As long as your IQ is still equivalent to the rate of iodized salt in your blood, stupid trashy hair little shit!”   
“Said someone whose Chemistry’s point is lower than me, way to go, idiot!”   
Oh now Yaku got kicked out, for real, and Kuroo got his ear pulled by the nurse. Still, they laughed like crazy hyenas as Kuroo got another check up to verify his ability to get home safely. Fortunately, Kuroo’s body temperature got down, and he was allowed to go home on foot, as long as Kenma was with him just in case.   
As Yaku was seeing Kenma and Kuroo off, he felt a chunk of his heart got bitten right out of his body.   
Maybe the reason why Yaku could feel it, because somewhere, deep in his heart, he wished for them to be closer than they already were. But Yaku knew, that was truly, the wishful thinking. They were too different to be together. And that day, it was just a confirmation to his own doubts.   
Even with those talents everyone so praised him about, those ensured no future in which he could give Kuroo a happy life he deserved. He could never give Kuroo a knot and he could never make Kuroo truly his with a claim mark. Even if Kuroo agreed to be with him, he could not dare to think that the omega could be so much happier with an alpha, that would eat him alive and left him helpless like a fish out of water.   
Yaku was a rational man, he would not walk down the highway to Hell.


End file.
